Feds find violations at job site in Penns Valley where worker died, propose fines
An internet service provider violated several workplace safety standards at a site in Penns Valley where a worker died last year, federal regulators wrote in citations released Wednesday.
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration proposed nearly $40,000 in fines against Centre WISP. The federal agency that monitors workplace safety found five serious violations at a work site in Gregg Township.
It is not known if the company plans to contest OSHA’s findings; the business did not immediately respond Wednesday to a request for comment. The deadline to respond to OSHA is March 17.
Alexzander J. Fries, 19, of Elk County, was fatally electrocuted in August while working in a utility truck that came into contact with live electrical wires. His death was ruled accidental.
Fries was remembered in his obituary as a kindhearted, generous and thoughtful man. He was an avid fisherman, enjoyed basketball, golfing and hunting, and was a dedicated fan of the Chicago Bears. He also loved animals, including his two cats.
“Having touched the lives of so many with his impish grin, heart of gold, and gentle demeanor, he will be dearly missed by all who knew him,” his obituary read. “He was a friend to all, always willing to lend a helping hand.”
Fries only worked at Centre WISP for a few months before he was killed. It was a job he “greatly enjoyed,” his obituary read.
Centre WISP failed to properly train Fries, investigators wrote in a 14-page document. He did not have the training and was not familiar with the necessary safety practices to conduct work around a 7,200-volt power line, investigators wrote.
Connor Lewis, the president of Seven Mountains Central Labor Council, AFL-CIO, expressed gratitude for OSHA’s investigation, but said “fines aren’t going to bring people back.”
“A lot of the work that line workers do ... is highly-skilled work and it’s dangerous work. It’s work that requires training. It’s work that requires experience. This is not work that a 19-year-old fresh on the job should be doing,” Lewis said. “Ultimately, the tragic reality is that by putting a young man in that position without the adequate training, without the adequate experience to do that well and do it safely, it created an avoidable tragedy. That didn’t have to happen. This wasn’t simply an accident. It was an accident that was brought on by safety violations by the employer. It was something that could have been prevented.”
Regulators found Fries was not wearing a fall restraint and wheel chocks were not installed before he utilized the truck, which was on an incline.
The company was also cited for allowing the uninsulated articulating arm and bucket of the truck to be operated in the vicinity of energized power lines.
Centre WISP was installing broadband service in rural Centre County areas.
“Enforcing the law after the fact isn’t enough,” Lewis said. “We need employers to actually follow the regulations that are in place because when they don’t we see what the consequences are.”
Fries was one of three workers killed since October 2021 in Centre County, tied for the second-most deaths in a 14-county region. One died after falling five stories at a demolition site in State College, while another was electrocuted while excavating a trench in Spring Township.
There were nine workplace deaths since 2021 in Centre County.